Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - The South Florida Bulls are underdogs in their own building this evening, as they will host the eighth-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles in Big East Conference action.

Marquette has won its last 12 games, matching its longest win streak in seven years. The Golden Eagles are a remarkable 9-0 in Big East play, a tremendous accomplishment considering the strength of the league. They are fresh off a 76-61 decision over DePaul on Tuesday, but they have yet to face the likes of UConn or Louisville, two of the top teams in both the conference and the nation.

South Florida isn't nearly as formidable as those Big East powers mentioned, as the Bulls have dropped three straight decisions to fall to 7-14 overall and 2-7 in conference. They are fresh off a 65-48 beating at the hands of St. John's on Sunday, the second straight blowout defeat.

Marquette owns a 14-2 series lead over South Florida, which includes wins in each of the last seven meetings.

Marquette has as good a foursome as any team in the nation. Jerel McNeal leads the club with 20.0 ppg, and that figure climbs to 23.9 ppg against Big East competition. Wesley Matthews provides 19.2 ppg overall, and Lazar Hayward checks in with 16.1 ppg and 8.4 rpg. Dominic James is scoring 11.7 ppg, and he is dishing out 5.3 apg. Thanks to those four players, Marquette is generating more than 80 ppg. In the recent victory over DePaul, McNeal nailed 5-of-8 three-pointers and finished with 26 points and six assists. Matthews added 20 points, while James contributed 15 points and five assists. Hayward managed to score only six points, but his team connected on 57.1 percent of its field goal attempts and only turned the ball over 10 times.

In the ugly loss to St. John's on Sunday, South Florida connected on only 35.3 percent of its field goal attempts and finished with a low total of eight assists. The Bulls were outrebounded by a 39-29 margin and were outscored 13-4 from the foul line. Dominique Jones scored 16 points in the setback, and Augustus Gilchrist added a dozen. The Bulls trailed by only six points at the break, but they were outscored by 11 points in the second half. Jones has clearly been the go-to guy for USF this season, as he is netting 18.3 ppg to go with 5.0 rpg and 4.0 apg. Jesus Verdejo checks in with 13.6 ppg, but he is shooting below 40 percent from the floor. As for Gilchrist, he provides 10.5 ppg. Generating offense has been a problem for the Bulls for much of the season, as the team is posting just above 61 ppg.